Jennifer Garner on the stress tabloids put on her marriage: ‘I could cry’

On CBS News Sunday Morning, Jennifer Garner opened up about being scrutinized by the tabloids during her marriage to Ben Affleck. The two married in 2005 and separated in 2015, with Garner officially filing for divorce last year.

Garner said that it was commonplace for them to have five or six cars outside their house during the week and upward of 15 or 20 on the weekends — all full of paparazzi.

“Looking back on that, I really feel the stress of it,” Garner said. “I really — I could cry talking about it.”

Upon reflection, Garner said, having a relationship under a microscope can create pressure to do something — like get married — in the hope of ending the constant questions. And while she didn’t go so far as to say that’s what happened with her and Affleck, she said such scrutiny can also move relationships in the reverse.

“If there is an inkling of trouble, or the tabloids decide there is trouble, it can create trouble,” Garner said.

Though the actress said she no longer looks at tabloids, she admitted it wasn’t easy to get to that point.

“I had to really get serious with myself and say, ‘This is not healthy. Nobody should see pictures of themselves that paparazzi [have] taken,’” Garner said. “You can … either be making breakfast for your kids, making their lunch boxes, or you can be getting paparazzi-ready. And … I know which way I’m gonna go.”